TAP Department

History of TAP™ in Knox County Schools

In the 2006-07 school year, the Knox County Schools adopted TAP in four schools: Holston Middle, Northwest Middle, Lonsdale Elementary, and Pond Gap Elementary. These schools made significant improvements as measured by the value-added growth of students, teacher classroom evaluations and fidelity to the core elements of the TAP system.

In 2010, through a partnership with the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching (NIET), the Knox County Schools was awarded a 5-year $26.5 million federal grant from the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). Through this grant and local contributions from the Great Schools Partnership, Knox County was able to expand the TAP system and its core elements of job-embedded professional development, instructionally focused accountability, multiple career paths for teachers, and performance-based compensation to a total of 18 schools.

While the third cohort of Teacher Incentive Fund federal grants were officially set to expire at the end of the 2014-2015 school year, the United States Department of Education allowed districts and organizations under these grants to apply for a single-year extension if the grant budgets contained unused funds from the original 5-year budget. Through this application, NIET and Knox County were allowed to add an additional year of implementation to extend the core work of the grant. The extension required a reduction of funding for the 2015-2016 school year. In response to these budget adjustments, the number of TAP schools was reduced to a total of 12 schools, 9 of which remain funded by the federal TIF grant in this current year. These 12 schools continue to serve as a model for instructional excellence maintaining a school environment where teacher support and improved student outcomes are critical priorities.

Teaching & Learning Framework

Knox County Schools

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